Trigger mechanism



g- 3, 1957 A. T. TONKIN TRIGGER MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 20, 1965 FIG. I.

FIG. 2.

INVENTOR. THEODORE TONKIN ABRAHAM ATTORNEY Aug- 8, 1 A. 1'. TONKIN TRIGGER MECHANISM s Sheets-Shet 2 Filed Oct. 20, 1965 INVENTOR. ABRAHAM THEODORE TONK\N #zzm 7. PM

ATTORNE! Aug. 8, 1967 A. T. TONKIN 3,334,435

TRIGGER MECHANISM Filed Oct. 20, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. ABBA HAM THEODORE TONK! N Jzom/ P Pzaii ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice 3,334,435 TRIGGER MECHANISM Abraham T. Tonkin, 36 E. 73rd St., New York, N.Y. 10021 Filed Oct. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 498,594 4 Claims. (Cl. 42--42) The present invention relates generally to a trigger mechanism for a multi-barre'l firearm such as a shotgun, and more particularly to a trigger mechanism comprising a single trigger for selectively firing each barrel of a double barrel shotgun.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a new and improved trigger mechanism for the selective firing of each barrel of a multi-barrel firearm.

It is another object to provide a single trigger mechanism for selectively firing each barrel of a double barrel firearm such as a shotgun.

A further object of the instant invention is the provision of such a single trigger mechanism for a double barrel shotgun, which is so constructed as to enable the convenient manual selection of the barrel to be fired first by the initial actuation of the single trigger.

Still another object is the provision of such a single trigger mechanism for a double barrel shotgun, which is so constructed as to enable the second barrel to be fired by a second actuation of the single trigger.

A still further object is to provide a new and improved single trigger mechanism 'for a multi-barrel firearm, such as a shotgun, which mechanism is compact, simple in construction, reliable in operation and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

Many other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away, of a trigger mechanism constructed in accordance with the principles of the instant invention, showin the mechanism when both barrels are ready for firing and prior to actuation of the single trigger;

FIG- 2 is a plan view, with parts broken awayand parts shown in section, of a portion of the trigger mechanism shown in FIG. 1; j

FIG. 3 is an exploded viewin perspective of substantially all of the components of the trigger mechanism of the instant invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 1,,

showing the trigger mechanism after the first barrel has been fired by initial actuation of the single trigger; and

FIG. 5 is an evelational view of the side of the instant trigger mechanism opposite to that illustrated in FIG. 4, showing the mechanism after the firing of the first barrel and prior to the firing of the second barrel.

In the illustrated embodiment of the instant invention,

and referring first to FIGS. 1 through 3, there is shown a housing 10 enclosing a'trig'ger mechanism 12 which is adapted to be utilized with a multi-barrel firearm such as a double barrel shotgun, the barrels and stock of which are not disclosed herein since they form no part of the instant invention. Rigidly secured to the housing 10 in any suitable manner is an elongated trigger support plate 14 which comprises a longitudinal slot 16 in which the single trigger18 of the instant mechanism is disposed. The support plate 14 comprises an upstanding member 20 comprising parallel sides having a pair of laterally aligned holes therein in which a pivot pin 22 is mounted. The pivot pin 22 is disposed within a corresponding laterally 3,334,435 Patented Aug. 8, 1967 extending aperture in the trigger 18 so as to serve as a pivotal support therefor.

The trigger 18 is provided with an upper plate portion 24 which comprises an upwardly inclined face 26 which is adapted to engage the portion of the support plate 14 which defines one end of the slot 16 therein when the trigger is in a neutral, unfired position (see FIG. 1). The upper plate portion 24 of the trigger 18 also is provided with an upwardly facing notch 28 which is adapted to be engaged by a lever 30 which forms part of the safety mechanism for the instant trigger mechanism 12. The safety lever 30 is pivotally mounted on and between a pair of opposing, upstanding lugs 32 which are rigidly mounted in parallel relationship on the support plate 14. In order to selectively move the safety lever 30 into and out of blocking relation with the trigger notch 28, the upper portion of the safety lever 30 is associated with a finger-engageable member 34 that is slidably mounted on the upper portion of the trigger mechanism housing .10 for predetermined movement in a conventional manner.

Pivotally mounted adjacent the forward end of the housing 10 are a pair of hammers 36, 37, each of which is provided with a laterally extending firing pin 38 which is adapted to enter the adjacent barrel (not shown) through an aperture 40 in the front portion of the housing 10in order to fire the charge in the barrel in a well known manner. Each of the hammers 36, 37 is normally urged toward a firing position by a-biasing block 42 which is pressed into engagement with the lower front portion of the hammer by a spring 44 of any suitable type. Disposed adjacent the rear lower portion of each of the hammers 36, 37 and adapted to be engaged in notches 46 therein, are elongated hammer release arms 48, 49 which are pivotally mounted at 50 within the trigger mechanism housing 10 for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis.

Each of the hammer release arms 48, 49 comprises a forwardly extending portion 52 which is adapted to engage the adjacent hammer notch 46, and a rearwardly extending portion 54 that comprises a laterally extending lug 56 at the rear end thereof (see FIG. 3). A spring 58 of any suitable type is disposed between the forward portion 52 of each of the hammer release arms 48, 49 and the trigger support plate 14 to normally bias the hammer release arms in a clockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 1) and into engagement with the adjacent hammer notch 46. It will be seen, therefore, at each hammer release arm 48 or 49 is normally biased into engagement with the adjacent hammer 36 or 37 to thus prevent it from being rotated in a counterclockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 1) for firing its respective barrel.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an elongated leaf spring 60 is suitably secured at one end to the trigger support plate 14 between the hammer release arms 48, 49, and comprises a raised, upwardly converging, generally V-shaped portion 62 at the other end thereof. A barrel selector button 64 is pivotally mounted Within and extends through an aperture 65 in the trigger support plate 14 and has an upper, downwardly converging V-shaped portion 66 which is in slidable engagement with the V- shaped portion 62 of the leaf spring 60. The leaf spring 60, therefore, serves to retain the selector button 64 in a desired or selected position, as will be more fully described hereinafter. The uppermost portion of the barrel selector button 64 comprises an upwardly facing recess 68 in which the front end of a barrel selector lever 70 is disposed (see FIG. 2). I

The barrel selector lever 70 is mounted for pivotal movement about a substantially vertical axis on the trigger 18 by a bolt 72.which is threaded into a recess in the trigger 18 (see FIG. 3). The rear portion of the barrel selector lever 70 comprises a rearwardly divergent end having relatively sharp corners 69, 71 of reduced vertical thickness so as to enable the corners to be selectively positioned under an adjacent one of the lugs 56 of the hammer release arms 48, 49. It will be readily seen that, by pivotally moving the barrel selector button 64 within the plate aperture 65 and against the force of the resilient leaf spring 60, the barrel selector lever 70 may be selectively pivoted about the bolt 72 to position one or the other of the corners 69, 71 thereof under an adjacent lug S6 of one of the hammer release arms 48 or 49.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the rear portion of the barrel selector lever 70 is slidably disposed within a recess 74 in the upper trigger plate portion 24 and rests on the .upper surface of the trigger 18. The barrel selector lever 70 and thus the trigger 18 are normally biased downwardly by a coil spring 76 which is in engagement at one end with a laterally extending portion 78 of the upstanding trigger support plate member 20 and at the other end with the head portion 80 of a pin 82. The upper end of the pin 82 is slidably disposed in an aperture in the lateral portion 78 of the upstanding member 20, and the lower head portion 80 of the pin is disposed in a recess (not shown) in the upper surface of the bolt 72 which serves to secure the selector lever 70 to the trigger 18. Thus, the trigger 18 normally is biased downwardly by the spring 76 to a neutral position wherein the inclined face 26 thereof is in an engagement with the portion of the support plate 14 defining the adjacent end of the slot 16 (see FIG. 1).

As further shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the upper portion of the trigger plate 24 is provided with a generally laterally extending bore '84 in which a pivot pin 86 is disposed. Rotatably mounted on the pivot pin 86 is a generally U- shaped member 88 having a pair of downwardly extending, forwardly hooked arms 90, 91. Surrounding the upper portion of the U-shaped member 88 and also pivotally mounted on the pin 86 is a generally rectangular actuator member 92 having a pair of depending lugs 94 which are adapted to engage the forward face of each of the arms 90, 91 of the U-shaped member 88. The lower surface of the portions of the actuator member 92 on each side of the pivot pin 86 are also positioned to engage the hooked arms 90, 91 at the upwardly facing lands 95 thereof.

The upper plate portion 24 of the trigger 18 is provided with a first upwardly facing recess 96 (see FIG. 1) in which a coil spring 98 is disposed. Secured to the upper end of the coil spring 98 is a pin 100 which is in engagement with a recess 101 in the rear portion of the actuator member 92 to normally bias it in a counterclockwise direction (as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3) on the pivot pin 86. Similarly, a second upwardly facing recess 102 is provided in the upper portion of the trigger plate portion 24. and a coil spring 104 is disposed therein. A pin 106- is secured to the upper end of the coil spring 104 and is in engagement with the upper portion of the U-shaped member 88 to thus normally bias the member 88 in a clockwise direction (as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3) about the pivot pin 86. It is noted that the coil springs 98 and 104 disposed in the recesses 96 and 102, respectively, may be identical or different in construction, the important point being that'their operative relationship, and that of the U-shaped member 88 and the actuator member 92, be such that the U-shaped member 88 and the actuator member 92 assume the positions shown in FIG. 1 wherein the hooked arms 90, 91 of the member 88 are horizontally spaced from and thus unable to engage the lugs 56 on the hammer release arms 48, 49.

In operation, when the operator is ready to fire one or both barrels of the instant shotgun, the barrel to be fired first by the trigger 18 is selected by manually pivoting the barrel selector button 64 to one side or the other of the trigger 18, thereby pivoting the barrel selector lever 70 to a position wherein one or the other of its corners 69 or 71 is disposed under an adjacent lug 56 of one or the other of the hammer release arms 48 or 49, respectively. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, and assuming that the operator chooses to first fire the barrel corresponding to the hammer 36, the lower or finger portion of the selector button 64 is moved laterally (downwardly as seen in FIG. 2) to thus pivot the upper portion 68 thereof in the opposite lateral direction (upwardly as seen in FIG. 2) and to rotate the barrel selector lever 70 in a clockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 2) to move the end corner 69 thereof under the lug 56 of the hammer release arm 48.

As shown in FIG. 4, after the safety lever 30 is moved out of blocking relation with the trigger notch 28 and when the trigger 18 is initially actuated or rotated about the pin 22, the selector lever 70 is moved upwardly therewith and the corner 69 of the lever 70 engages the lug 56 of the release arm 48 to thus rotate the release arm 48 in a counterclockwise direction about its pivot point 50. This rotation of the hammer release arm 48 causes the front portion 52 thereof to be rotated out of blocking engagement with the notch 46 in the lower rear portion of the hammer 36. Since the hammer 36 is then free to rotate, the biasing block 42 in engagement therewith, and under the action of the spring 44, rotates the hammer 36 in a counterclockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 4) to thus move its firing pin 38 through the adjacent aperture 40 in the housing 10 to fire the charge in the respective barrel (not shown).

It is noted that during the firing of the first or selected barrel corresponding to the hammer 36 there is no danger of simultaneously firing the second barrel because the other corner 71 of the barrel selector lever 70 is spaced from the lug 56 on the second hammer release arm 49 and, as hereinbefore explained, the hooked arms 90, 91 of the U-shaped member 88 are also spaced from the lugs 56 of both hammer release arms 48, 49, thereby preventing any movement of the second hammer release arm 49 during the firing of the barrel corresponding to the first release arm 48.

In order to fire the second barrel by a second actuation of the trigger 18, there is no need for the operator to make a further selection with the barrel selector button 64. All that is required through the use of the instant trigger mechanism is that the operator again actuate the trigger 18. As shown'in FIG. 5 after the trigger 18 has been released subsequent to the initial actuation thereof for firing the first barrel and during the return of the trigger to a neutral position under the action of the spring 76, it will be seen that one of the depending lugs 94 of the rectangular actuator member 92 engages the already-fired, raised hammer release arm 48 to thus rotate the actuator member 92 in. a counterclockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 5) against the force of the coil spring 98 disposed in the trigger recess 96. Since the actuator member 92 is rotated out of engagement with the U-shaped member 88, the latter is rotated by the coil spring 104 in the trigger recess 102 in a counterclockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 5) to a position wherein the hooked portions of its arms and 91 are disposed beneath the lugs 56 of the hammer release arms 48 and 49, respectively.

It will be readily apparent, therefore, that when the trigger 18 is actuated for a second time, the hooked arm 91 of the U-shaped member 88 will engage the lug 56 on the hammer release arm 49 to thus rotate it in a clockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 5) and out of blocking engagement with the hammer 37, thereby enabling the hammer 37 to be rotated in a clockwise direction by its biasing block 42 to a firing position to fire the charge in the second barrel (not shown).

From the above description, it will be seen that the instant invention is particularly advantageous in that it enables the selective firing of one or more barrels of a multi-barrel firearm through the successive actuation of a Single g r 13; Without the danger of an undesired simultaneous firing of the barrels. In addition, all that is required to select the order of firing of the barrels is an initial positioning by the operator of a selector button 64 which is disposed conveniently near the trigger 18 of the It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A trigger mechanism for a double barrel firearm of the type having a pair of hammers for firing the charge in each barrel and a pair of movable hammer release arms normally disposed in blocking relation to each of the hammers to prevent firing movement thereof, said trigger mechanism comprising:

a support,

a trigger disposed between the hammer release arms and movably mounted on said support for movement between firing and non-firing positions,

first release arm engaging means movably mounted on said trigger for movement toward positions under one or the other of said release arms,

manually operable barrel selector means movably mounted on said support and operatively associated with said first engaging means for positioning the latter under a selected hammer release arm for engaging and moving it out of blocking engagement with its respective hammer during a first movement of said trigger to a firing position,

second release arm engaging means movably mounted on said trigger for engagement with the unselected hammer release arm to move it out of blocking engagement with its respective hammer during a second movement of said trigger to a firing position, said second engaging means comprising a generally U- shaped member pivotally mounted on said trigger and having hooked arms adapted to be positioned under said hammer release arms, and

actuator means for preventing engagement of said second engaging means with said unselected hammer release arm during said first firing movement of said trigger.

2. The trigger mechanism of claim 1 wherein said first engaging means comprises a lever pivotally mounted on said trigger, said selector means com-prises a button member movably mounted on said support and operatively associated with one end of said lever to move the other end thereof into engaging relation to a selected hammer release arm, and wherein a resilient spring member is disposed in engagement with said button for retaining it in a selected position.

3. The trigger mechanism of claim 1 wherein said actuator means comprises a member pivotally mounted on said trigger and having a pair of lugs adapted to engage said hooked arms, and first spring means for urging said lugs into engagement with said hooked arms to urge the latter to a position wherein they cannot engage said hammer release arms.

4. The trigger mechanism of claim 3 wherein said actuator member is so positioned that one of its lugs engages said selected hammer release arm after it is actuated by said first firing movement of said trigger to move said lugs out of engagement with said hooked arms, and wherein second spring means are provided to urge said hooked arms to a position under said hammer release arms when said lugs are so moved out of engagement with said hooked arms after said first firing of said trigger.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 893,866 7/1908 Parry 42-42 942,794 12/ 1909 Russ 4242 1,829,958 11/ 1931 Kautzky 4242 SAMUEL W. ENGLE, Primary Examiner.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Examiner. 

1. A TRIGGER MECHANISM FOR A DOUBLE BARREL FIREARM OF THE TYPE HAVING A PAIR OF HAMMERS FOR FIRING THE CHARGE IN EACH BARREL AND A PAIR OF MOVABLE HAMMER RELEASE ARMS NORMALLY DISPOSED IN BLOCKING RELATION TO EACH OF THE HAMMERS TO PREVENT FIRING MOVEMENT THEREOF, SAID TRIGGER MECHANISM COMPRISING: A SUPPORT, A TRIGGER DISPOSED BETWEEN THE HAMMER RELEASE ARMS AND MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN FIRING AND NON-FIRING POSITIONS, FIRST RELEASE ARM ENGAGING MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID TRIGGER FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD POSITIONS UNDER ONE OR THE OTHER OF SAID RELEASE ARMS, MANUALLY OPERABLE BARREL SELECTOR MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT AND OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID FIRST ENGAGING MEANS FOR POSITIONING THE LATTER UNDER A SELECTED HAMMER RELEASE ARM FOR ENGAGING AND MOVING IT OUT OF BLOCKING ENGAGEMENT WITH ITS RESPECTIVE HAMMER DURING A FIRST MOVEMENT OF SAID TRIGGER TO A FIRING POSITION, SECOND RELEASE ARM ENGAGING MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID TRIGGER FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE UNSELECTED HAMMER RELEASE ARM TO MOVE IT OUT OF BLOCKING ENGAGEMENT WITH ITS RESPECTIVE HAMMER DURING A SECOND MOVEMENT OF SAID TRIGGER TO A FIRING POSITION, SAID SECOND ENGAGING MEANS COMPRISING A GENERALLY USHAPED MEMBER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID TRIGGER AND HAVING HOOKED ARMS ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED UNDER SAID HAMMER RELEASE ARMS, AND ACTUATOR MEANS FOR PREVENTING ENGAGEMENT OF SAID SECOND ENGAGING MEANS WITH SAID UNSELECTED HAMMER RELEASE ARM DURING SAID FIRST FIRING MOVEMENT OF SAID TRIGGER. 